Friday hearing set on horse slaughter

New Mexico's attorney general will seek a restraining order to prevent a horse slaughter plant from opening.

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A Friday court hearing is set on the latest effort to stop a Roswell plant from resuming domestic horse slaughter.

State District Judge Matthew Wilson in Santa Fe will hear New Mexico Attorney General Gary King’s request for a temporary restraining order to block Valley Meat Co. from opening its doors in the coming days.

King’s suit says Valley Meat stands to violate state laws related to food safety, water quality and unfair business practices.

An attorney for Valley Meat calls the lawsuit frivolous.

It’s the latest in a series of legal challenges to the plant, which has been trying for nearly two years to open its doors.

Valley and a company in Missouri have won Department of Agriculture permits to become the first horse slaughterhouses to operate in the U.S. since 2007.